Aspatria scored a decisive victory over Upper Eden by 36-5 in National 2 North to lift a rather flat season so far.
This Cumbrian derby marked the halfway point in this season’s campaign and both sides have generally performed under par to date.
They started the game in the bottom half of the table with both of them short of where they might have expected to be at this stage.
The promised storms failed to arrive at Bower Park, dry conditions prevailed and even a swirling breeze had little impact on play.
Aspatria started against the wind and from the off put Upper Eden under pressure.
The first score came with seven minutes played when a penalty was used to deliver a five-metre line-out.
The set-piece was well executed, leading to a series of rucks on the try line and from the last of these second row James Hunter went over for an unconverted tryt.
Upper Eden achieved a decent share of possession but any scoring threat came from Aspatria and it was in line with the run of play when they extended the lead to 10-0 after 15 minutes.
The try was set-up by some excellent play from the home backs ending with centre Kai Gilhespy taking the ball close before handing it over to Grant Bethwaite who joined the line from full-back and squeezed in at the corner flag.
The third try had one of the best finishes seen at Bower Park for several seasons. It was that man Bethwaite who had the crowd on their feet.
Back row Owen Blackburn produced the hard yards to deliver the ball into the 22 but the attack looked to have run out of space before Bethwaite still metres short of the line started his dive into the corner.
It was a thing of beauty as Bethwaite’s body was out of play but crucially in the air as he flew past the corner flag to touch down.
With Aspatria holding a 15-0 advantage play began to even out and with ball in hand Upper Eden looked increasingly threatening.
The home defence was forced into some last ditch defence before half-time to keep the visitors at bay.
Upper Eden retained this momentum at the start of the second half. Play transferred to the Aspatria half and under pressure, the home side started to give up penalties.
With six minutes played Upper Eden looked certain to put points on the board. A quickly taken tap penalty caught Aspatria unawares and it should have been a walk-in score but the ball was dropped.
Upper Eden were lifted by their early success and minutes later another quickly taken penalty delivered a try from Matthew Brass.
Now at 15-5 there was every sign that this game was far from done. Unfortunately, Upper Eden could not sustain the pressure and Aspatria gradually clawed back their earlier dominance.
At number eight Chris Graham’s willingness to carry the ball and take on the opposition was a factor in sapping Upper Eden’s resolve.
A charge from Graham played a major part in earning Aspatria a try bonus point. Graham did not score but he made the ground and provided the pass to hooker Adam Cavanagh whose full speed charge proved unstoppable.
Twenty minutes remained in the game but at 22-5 Aspatria had this one in the bag. Upper Eden had their moments but a combination of self-inflicted errors and a well-organised home defence diffused all scoring ambitions.
Aspatria entered the final ten minutes fully in charge and the fifth try came from a penalty that was scrummed down ten metres out and the ball moved left to hand Gilhespy a well-deserved score.
Perhaps the unluckiest player on the field was Lewis Gascoyne operating on the right flank. With a handful of minutes remaining a pacey run by Gascoyne ended with him touching down on the line but surrounded by defenders.
Unfortunately, the referee was unsighted and correctly could not award the score. Gascoyne’s loss was centre Ben Toothill’s gain.
When Aspatria recovered the ball it was immediately slung wide across the pitch where Toothill had an easy run to end the day’s scoring.
